Last night’s Contemporary Art auction at Phillips de Pury & Co reinforced uncertainties regarding the present state of the Contemporary Art market, as the sale earned just £3,963,450 against the pre-sale estimate of £6,075,000-8,575,000 (totals realized include buyer’s premium, estimates do not). Of 45 lots offered only 24 found buyers, leaving 47% of the lots unsold. For comparison, last year’s Contemporary Art Auction at Phillips earned £5.1 million.

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No lots were valued over £1 million, and only four surpassed the £300,000 mark. The cover lot, Thomas Schutte‘s Doppelkopf, was the highest grossing lot, selling for £481,250 (estimate £400,00-600,00).

While it may be an exaggeration to say that the disappointing results of the Phillips sale is an indication of the Contemporary Art market’s decline, it is certainly no indication of its recovery, either.